Public may hear Dr. D's performance evaluation

Steamboat Springs  Strawberry Park Principal John DeVincentis said Monday he will let the school board decide whether to review his performance evaluation in public or in an executive session.

The Steamboat Springs School Board will take up the matter at a meeting Thursday.

"The bottom line is we want whatever the board wants," DeVincentis said. "We are going to let (board members) decide."

He said he wants the board to be as comfortable as possible while hearing the appeal.

Board President Paul Fisher said DeVincentis could request for the meeting to be held in executive session. The board must then vote to adjourn into executive session.

However, without a request from DeVincentis or a supported motion by the board, the meeting will be open to the public. If the meeting is held in public, Fisher said there will be no public comment time and there will be governing rules for the audience.

DeVincentis has challenged the fairness of his performance evaluation. He was the only principal in the school district not to receive a pay for performance bonus last year. A group of parents Parents for Dr. D has formed to support the longtime principal in his dispute with the board and district's superintendent, Cyndy Simms. Simms performed DeVincentis' evaluation.

"We're looking forward to this because we feel it is a significant step to resolution," Fisher said.

DeVincentis appealed his performance evaluation on Oct. 22. The review of his evaluation is an alternative to mediation, which originally was proposed as a means of resolving the dispute between DeVincentis and the board and Simms.

If the meeting is open to the public, Fisher said the board would go into executive session following the meeting to discuss its findings. He said the board would likely make a public statement no later than Friday.

Fisher said the board is "trying to do this expeditiously but thoughtfully."